The government’s Green Paper ‘Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice’, signals what could be the largest shift in higher education framework in a long time.
The consultation document itself is a grand total of 105 pages. Now whilst the keen higher education beans amongst you may well have read it, for those of you that haven’t yet had the chance, here’s my summary and thoughts on what it sets out to achieve.
The main points it covers are as follows:
Teaching Excellence Framework
The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) takes centre stage. A method proposed to monitor and assess the quality of teaching in English universities. Participation in it carries a reputational incentive for institutions. A good result in the TEF will look good on paper and will enable institutions to provide information to potential students about the quality of teaching they can expect to receive.
Now on the face of it, encouraging an excellent teaching experience seems like a pretty great idea and something that reflects what I consistently campaign for as Education Officer BUT….. Yes, there’s a but, because if this all comes to fruition, it is proposed that if universities reach certain standards in the TEF, they’ll be allowed to raise their tuition fees in line with inflation (up to a certain level to be decided by government ministers). Now let’s be brutally honest, higher education is bloody expensive enough as it is. The thought of students potentially incurring even higher costs and more debt than they do now? No thank you Jo Johnson. Students should never be put in a situation where they may be faced with making a sacrifice in the quality of their education simply in order to afford it. As NUS have put it, ‘quality doesn’t grow on fees’. It is a flawed idea to think teaching quality and tuition fees.
What is particularly puzzling for all those who’ve read the Green Paper is that the government at the moment remains quite unsure as to what teaching excellence even looks like (most likely because it’s impossible to come with a single definition…), yet they want to introduce a whole new framework for it!
Improvements for students from BME and disadvantaged backgrounds
The Green Paper recognises (thank goodness!) that a significant amount of work needs to be done to improve participation in higher education and retention rates for students from these backgrounds, even pledging to raise the number of BME students entering Uni to 20% by 2020. In particular enhanced career guidance in schools is encouraged; ensuring young people are selecting the right GCSE and A Level option choices to set them up for the future they want. Making the right information available is a really crucial aspect of opening up higher education and it’s reassuring to see some serious acknowledgement of this.
Safeguarding students against institutional failure
Requirements are outlined for safeguards to be put in place in order to protect students should their institution fail and exit the sector or be in a position where it is no longer able to provide their course. This is good, students should absolutely feel a sense of security in their learning environment, knowing that they and the investment they have made is protected if something was to go wrong.
A bigger market
This essentially focuses on the new market entrants to the sector and the development of mechanisms to make it easier for private providers to gain degree awarding powers. Ultimately here the government wants to streamline current practice and create a single entry route, with clearly defined steps. Whilst this appears to be a reasonable idea and increased competition and diversity could be good, it’s a complex system that needs to be really carefully looked at so we don’t end up inadvertently simply opening the doors and diluting the integrity and reputation of the sector.
Shaking up HE infrastructure
The Green Paper aims to change current HE infrastructure and bring in a brand new shiny Office for Students, which would act as a regulator. They intend that this Office for Students will promote the interests of students, employers and taxpayers. Through doing this it is hoped regulatory costs will be reduced, as well as administrative burdens. They suggest it will represent ‘the student interest’ yet the proposals don’t include student representation. An Office for Students without any students involved…. Hmmmmm. If it’s intended to be a ‘student champion organisation’, then students need to be involved at every level, and quickly.
Students’ Unions
Primarily the Green Paper wants to increase transparency and ensure the accountability of students’ unions. High levels of student engagement, ensuring our priorities are informed by student feedback and regularly communicating our actions are just some of the ways we’re already committed to being transparent and accountable to our members. But we’re also not complacent and strive to continually improve in this area, through our communications, governance and organisational structure.
Following the passing of the Trade Union Bill recently by parliament, there’s concern that this may be an attempt to challenge our campaigning and collective voice. Students’ unions play a vital role in representing students’ interests and are powerful agents of change, not only in their local communities but on a national level. So rather than scrutinise us, let’s hope the government chooses to work with us and recognise the fantastic work students’ unions do.
And a nod to research
The word count given to research is minimal but in essence, the main implication is that block grant (or quality) research funding will be relocated and there will be more strategic coordination given to Research Councils.
The institutional research landscape should serve to complement excellence in teaching but worryingly this suggests there is the potential that responsibility for teaching and research will become completely separated in policy terms in England.
To wrap up…
So there you have it, my thoughts on the HE Green Paper. I think the proposals that it lays out are bold and ballsy. It is certainly an ambitious agenda for change. In some places, there’s been sufficient detail given, in others I’ve been left wondering quite what the implications might actually be. But that’s why it’s vital to ask questions and make challenges! Like other students’ unions and universities up and down the country, the University of Bath Students’ Union will be submitting their own response to the consultation. In essence, we’re telling them what’s good, what’s unclear and where they should quite simply TEF off.
If you have any thoughts, please do get in touch at sueducation@bath.ac.uk